~ Blog and Podcast Exploring the Spectrum of Science

Leslie Waghorn is the mother of a very active preschooler and a fiercely independent toddler. She has worked in public health and digital media strategy for nearly a decade, having previously worked in media and politics. Previously based in Washington, DC, she’s now based in Ottawa, Canada. Leslie holds an MA in health communication from George Mason University and has an honors BA with a double major in Political Science and History from Carleton University. By day she’s a freelance health communication professional and by night she’s the founder and editor-in-chief of TheScientificParent.org.

Byron Whyte MD, FAAP joins Clay and Grant to discuss the issue of race in the practice of medicine. Why are minorities still significantly under-represented in medicine and dentistry? Does racism exist in the medical school selection process?

The discussion of race can be uncomfortable, but it’s a conversation that needs to be held.

Clay also discusses his SBM article about acupuncture for colic in infants.

Dr Whyte is a practicing pediatrician in Urgent Care in Virginia. He obtained his undergraduate and medical degrees at Howard University and his pediatric residency at Dartmouth. Follow Byron on Twitter: @UrbaneDoc4Kids

Dr. Jennifer Raff chats with Clay and Grant about Genetics, Evolution, the peopling of the Americas, and other interesting topics. We also get into the genetic basis of race, and how this construct can be used and abused.

Jennifer Raff is an Assistant Professor of Physical Anthropology at the University of Kansas, and director and Principal Investigator of the KU Laboratory of Human Population Genomics. She has a dual Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Anthropology from Indiana University, and has completed postdoctoral work at the University of Utah, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and the University of Texas. Jennifer’s research focuses on the molecular genetics of evolution through the analysis of genomes from ancient and contemporary human populations, with a special emphasis on the initial colonization and subsequent population history of the American continents. In addition to her academic work, she is extensively involved in science literacy outreach efforts through social media, public talks, and writing for her blog, the Huffington Post, and the Social Evolution Forum.
violentmetaphors.com
@jenniferraff

Vance Crowe sits down for a chat with Clay and Grant about Science Communication, dispelling myths about Monsanto, bridging the gap between skepticism and other areas in science and culture, and how to honor our tribalism while respectfully engaging communities unlike our own.

Vance Crowe is the Director of Millennial Engagement at Monsanto in Saint Louis, Missouri. Vance is a former Communications Strategist for the World Bank Group, a returned U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer stationed in Kenya, a former communications coordinator at a National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate in Northern California and was a deckhand on an eco-tourism ship that traveled in the Western Hemisphere. Vance holds an undergraduate degree in communications from Marquette University and a Master’s Degree in Cross-Cultural Negotiations from the Seton Hall School of Diplomacy.

Dr. Carol Tavris’s work as a writer, teacher, and lecturer has been devoted to educating the public about psychological science. Her book with Elliot Aronson, “Mistakes Were Made (But Not by ME): Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts” (updated, revised edition, Mariner Books, 2015), applies cognitive dissonance theory to a wide variety of topics, including politics, conflicts of interest, memory (everyday and “recovered”), the criminal justice system, police interrogation, the daycare sex-abuse epidemic, family quarrels, international conflicts, and business.

She has spoken to students, psychologists, mediators, lawyers, judges, physicians, business executives, and general audiences on, among other topics, self-justification; science and pseudoscience in psychology; gender and sexuality; critical thinking; and anger. In the legal arena, Dr. Tavris has given many addresses and workshops to attorneys and judges on the difference between testimony based on good psychological science and that based on pseudoscience and subjective clinical opinion.

Dr. Tavris is a Charter Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. Her honors and awards include the 2014 Media Achievement Award from SPSP; an honorary doctorate from Simmons college in 2013; the Distinguished Media Contribution Award from the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology (for The Mismeasure of Woman), the Heritage Publications Award from Division 35 of the American Psychological Association (for The Mismeasure of Woman), the “Movers and Shakers” Award from Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research, the Distinguished Contribution to Women’s Health Award from the APA Conference on Women’s Health, and an award from the Center for Inquiry, Independent Investigations Group, for contributions to skepticism and science.